Program saves county money, keeps people out of jail

Since its inception in March, Otero County's Community Compliance Program has saved the county $71,120 in costs for housing prisoners.

According to Otero County Commissioner Ronny Rardin, the program has saved the county money by providing nonviolent offenders an alternative to spending time in jail.

"It's a win-win situation for the county because we get labor done without having to pay for it, and we don't have to pay to house a prisoner at the same time," Rardin said.

Rardin said CCP also benefits the people in the program because they don't have to spend time in jail and can return home to their families at the end of the work day.

"The people that have been in the program so far say they prefer staying out of jail," he said.

According to Stephanie Hale, the Otero County administrative assistant, the CCP has had 48 people work in the program since it first started.

"The first day we received a worker for the program was March 18," Hale said. "Since then, we have been able to keep 48 people out of jail."

Rardin said the best part of the program is it gives the people who have broken the law a chance to contribute to the community.

Advertisement

One way CCP workers contribute to the community is by thinning and clearing trees for the Lincoln National Forest. The county and the U.S. Forest Service signed a cost-share supplemental project agreement that is aimed at reducing hazardous fuels in wildland and urban interface zones.

The county plans to use CCP workers to thin and clear 240 acres in the LNF near Karr Canyon.

"I'm teaching guys how to operate equipment and cut down trees," CCP supervisor David Ramirez said. "We've been working up here in the forest five days a week from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m."

Ramirez said the program has done great job of keeping people out of jail while also providing an important service to the community.

"The main reason we are working with the Forest Service is to help reduce the chances of a forest fire," Rardin said. "Our goal as a county commission is to protect the citizens, and that is why we are thinning the forest. We don't want wildfires in our forests that could potentially cause harm to folks who live in and around the forest."

According to Rardin, CCP workers have cleared 10 acres since the program began. Rardin said the area of the forest CCP workers have cleared was overcrowded and a potential fire hazard.

"We're getting work done that we could have never gotten done without the program because we simply could not afford it," Rardin said.

Rardin said if the county had needed to hire people to work for the $7.50 per hour minimum wage to thin the forest over the past few months, it would have cost the county about $53,200.

Rardin said CCP workers have been doing a good job and the free labor is a real bonus to the program. He added that the people who have worked with the program have all been cordial and responsive.

Ramirez concurred with Rardin by saying he has had no problems working with any of the CCP workers. "I've even written letters of recommendation for a couple of the guys I've worked with," Ramirez said.

Rardin said CCP workers know that if they don't show up to work and don't comply with rules, they go to jail.

"The program has been working out really well so far and I'm really proud of it," Rardin said. "We've been able to save money and clear the forest at the same time. That, to me, is a really good thing."

Rardin said though the program is new, it will continue to be a success and the county will be able to utilize CCP workers for many other projects.

"The Otero County Commission are pioneers with this program," Rardin said. "No other county in the state that I know of is doing this. But I'm sure others will be doing similar programs after they see how successful ours is."